Garment sales in Northern Marianas drop dramatically
Posted at 9:40am on 08 Aug 2014
www.radionz.co.nz
Sales for the garment industry in Northern Marianas posted a fall of 24.6% or $US146 million; in the first 10 months of the 2014 fiscal year compared to the same period last year.The drop is primarily due to the closure of 10 factories since January 2005.Sales reached $US448.6m between October 2005 and July 2014, compared to $595m for the same period the previous year.
The Fitial administration says the downward trend is expected to continue unless the United States Congress amends the US Tariff Code to allow Saipan garment factories to use more imported raw materials for their “Made in the USA” garment products.
Taxes paid by garment businesses on locally manufactured and finished garment products have also dropped as a result of the dismal sales.
